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Topic: Twin Peaks Returns (Read 12670 times)

So I just watched the first two episodes of the new Twin Peaks (pats 1 and 2 together, making a full hour and half long episode) and without reveling anything or spoiling anything I think it's safe to say that this was exactly what the fans were waiting for. Even if all you want is some classic Lynch storytelling, its all there. I dont think anyone will be disappointed.

Gob and I were able to watch all of the new episodes of Twin Peaks at once last night (West coast, baybeee!), and it truly a pure "Lynch" experience. Even after four hours of viewing, I felt excited and ready for more. I'm inclined to agree with Oburi that Lynch is setting us up for a very fun adventure!

I want to keep the spoilery talk minimal for those who haven't seen all 4 episodes yet, but I'm curious to know what sort of theories everybody has about the following things: the existence of Dougie and his connection to Cooper and "Booper" (the new nickname for Bob+Cooper that makes me crack up whenever I use it), the whole South Dakota plotline, and of course, the mysterious BAWX in New York! I have to say, I think that I assumed that the new show would jump right back into the cozy "feel" of the original series, where so far it's been dense and at times uncomfortable to watch. Not that it bothers me, mind you, I'm just interested to know where Lynch is taking us. As Gob and I noted while watching last night, lack of music and long, lingering shots seem to be the new norm for the series.

Twin Peaks: The Return came back in style! In a giant 4 hour chunk too and i also just found out that Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces exists. It and certainly the new season finally explain what the controversial prequel film was about. The new show is basically a 2nd and more... strictured (?) Fire Walk With Me, as it answers how the inbred child of Eraser Head, Lost Highway and Inland Empire would look like. S03 is that fucking wild and from nearly minute one too! Undeniably the most niche big budget show of ALL time and certainly the most frightening. Just show anyone the scene of Cooper being eaten by an electricity socket or that strobe light tree with a heart for a "head" talking backwards. They will never talk to you again . The unsettling gore is though the roof too.

Long story short. David Lynch is about to create another masterpiece, especially if i consider that the 4th episode then suddenly takes a time out to recreate the 1990/91 original, before veering back into relentless psychological horror in the last 10 minutes. So go back to the classic + film, if you never saw it. Even if S02 historically shat the bed after solving the big mystery. It ended strong though.Here is a refresher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxUC8QH8miU Get the 3 hard canon books too (donīt ask me which one is the craziest, but The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer is a hard NC-17) and strap yourself in for 18 hours of old man David Lynch without ANY restrain + a final book. Unless someone at Showtime decides to fund these mad men again.

I decided to make a dedicated thread, given that it's what everyone was talking about anyway in the streaming thread.

I just finished the second episode. Pacing myself at an episode a night -- why rush? We aren't getting anymore, and we've waited this long. So far it's almost exactly what I wanted after I heard Lynch would return to the series.

It's thankfully less a "new season" (and the bloatedness that implies these days...) and more like 4 mini Lynch movies that dramatically expand on the scenario where Twin Peaks left off, and yet somehow doesn't overplay its hand. Which, I mean, I couldn't ask for more. It didn't dawn on me until I started watching it just how delicate it would be to try and pick up the pieces 25 years later. But Lynch approaches it in his trademark "I don't give a fuck about what your preconceptions were, this is my show" fashion, which is heartening.

It'd have been so easy to just go back to the basics and explore all those older characters again, make them the stars. I'm sure many fans would have been pleased with that approach, but not me. I got plenty of that in Season 2. This was the honest path for continuing the story they set out to tell, unafraid to introduce new characters, and go in surprising yet fitting new directions,and I have a ton of respect for that.

Edit: Lol, I was so wrong... it is a whole new season. I just hope Lynch can keep up this momentum for 18 damned episodes!

It'd have been so easy to just go back to the basics and explore all those older characters again, make them the stars. I'm sure many fans would have been pleased with that approach, but not me. I got plenty of that in Season 2. This was the honest path for continuing the story they set out to tell, unafraid to introduce new characters, and go in surprising yet fitting new directions,and I have a ton of respect for that.

Exactly my thoughts! What I meant earlier in the other thread about my own waning interest during the second season and some of the narratives that just seemed to drag on endlessly while frankly all I cared about was getting back Cooper and the more Lynch type stuff (which are the best parts of show). So for the new season to start off the way it has is like the best thing possible for me. Especially after basically writing Lynch off as a filmmaker for years now. I mean, seriously, this is Lynch in the style of Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, which I really honestly was NOT expecting. The man can still do it like no other filmmaker can. At 71 years old to be producing this kind of material and actually directing in this style, you have to respect that. I don't know what he plans to do after this but since he stated that feature films are out of the question this could be a great sendoff.

I'm enjoying it so far. My big problem is fan service. The old characters are tacked in and don't seem to be living in the same world. They seem to be there as a necessary means for Lynch to tell the story he wants to. He has the freedom to make 18 eps of whatever he wants as long as it bears the Twin Peaks name, and it shows. Apart from Cooper, all the scenes with familiar settings/characters seem disjointed, severed from the larger story. Visually it was a disappointment as well. Even though it's not Inland Empire digital-bad, it still looks cheap and with really bad cgi. It definitely pulls me out of the whole experience, and immersion in this world is key.

Visually it was a disappointment as well. Even though it's not Inland Empire digital-bad, it still looks cheap and with really bad cgi. It definitely pulls me out of the whole experience, and immersion in this world is key.

I've been wondering about this as well. Maybe this was intentional, as a way to toy with people's expectations. I found it pretty funny, personally.

Visually it was a disappointment as well. Even though it's not Inland Empire digital-bad, it still looks cheap and with really bad cgi. It definitely pulls me out of the whole experience, and immersion in this world is key.

I've been wondering about this as well. Maybe this was intentional, as a way to toy with people's expectations. I found it pretty funny, personally.

It's hard to tell if it's intentional, when in Inland Empire he just didn't care and loved the ease of the shitty camera he used.

It does look drab like some random show no one watches, so it works if we consider this is to Prestige Dramasô what seasons 1 and 2 were to soap operas (with Invitation to Love and the empty glass box binge-watcher being more direct in making fun of those things).

But there's no way some of the special effects weren't supposed to be funny.

Well....we finished the first episode and I'm so glad this popped up on sk. I don't frequent many other forums and this group is solid in intelligent criticism. I am in love. The characters, which I admit will take time to memorize, are so unique and alive. The Lynch typical music to the rich landscape. The only dated issue I saw was the roadhouse fight scene. Very excited to see where this goes.

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Believing in a higher power is just as illusionary as believing life has no ultimate purpose and pretending it does.

Well....we finished the first episode and I'm so glad this popped up on sk. I don't frequent many other forums and this group is solid in intelligent criticism. I am in love. The characters, which I admit will take time to memorize, are so unique and alive. The Lynch typical music to the rich landscape. The only dated issue I saw was the roadhouse fight scene. Very excited to see where this goes.

Iím making a table, and this table, itís a side table next to my chair. And it will have a space for two remotes, one pair of glasses, some pens, a yellow pad, a box of Kleenex, and a wine bottle box, plus another door for cigarettes and a lighter, and another door for cheese crackers and things like this. And it has electricity in the table, tooóitís for a lamp on top of the table.

Here is a place for glasses, remote controls, and pens. And hereís a circle with Kleenex coming out. Hereís a larger circle for a wine bottle. This is a door on special hinges that holds cigarettes and lighter. And over on this side is a large door, so this part right here is a place for Parmesan crackers and trail mix and wine glasses and different things. Iím going to have electricity wired into the table ó Iím going to have a lamp ó so I have a switch right here. And then down here is a drawer that has a place for a yellow pad. If I have an idea, I can take out the yellow pad and write it down with the pens. And itís on these red wheels. So itís a side table that holds all the things that I use.

Spoiler-filled theories based on last night's episode: A few things are coming together now.

I think Dougie was created by Dopplecooper as a kind of backup plan so he could remain in the world after Cooper came back. But Dopplecooper didn't count on: a) wrecking his car and ultimately being locked up b) the series of assassinations on the newly emerged Cooper to fail. So now he has to work uphill to escape and have Cooper killed, which would presumably remedy his (and Cooper's) current slowness. As to what that is about, our best guess is that it's related to the golden ball we saw come out of Dougie in the Black Lodge (but no idea how that thing got there in the first place).

Alternatatively: Because the failed assassinations were orchestrated by the nervous lady who later called her boss in Buenos Aires, likely Philip Jefferies (David Bowie), it could be that Dougie was also created by Jefferies as a way to weaken Dopplecooper and get to him that way. No idea why Jefferies would need/want Dopplecooper dead.

Dopplecooper's weird, long hair could be result of being possessed by Bob (or just a way to distinguish the two Coopers). We got a confirmation that Bob is still in there, along for the ride in Dopplecooper's mind.

Bill Hastings, played surprisingly well by Matthew Lillard, and his whole murder plot continues to be a strange, loose thread. Was it just one example (of presumably manu) Bob/Dopplecooper teaming up to sow chaos and harvest garmonbozia, like Laura's death was? That was my thought going into this latest episode, but with the appearance of Dougie's wedding ring, suddenly it ties things together. Dougie was wearing the Owl Cave ring on the night of his death, in place of the wedding ring.

The mysterious slasher in the box scene ó I don't actually expect that one to be resolved. I think the box served as a portal to the Black Lodge (maybe even more vast than that), and something followed Cooper in. I think that scene just serves an example of the kind of evil shit that can come out of the Black Lodge.

Finally, Cooper had a vision of Laura Palmer visiting him, which was preceded by one-armed-man asking if it was past or future. During the scene, Laura looks up at the sky and screams, as the Black Lodge curtains wave back and forth, ultimately being raised up, and Cooper sees the white horse. I think may have been a scene of the future, with Cooper witnessing the end of the Lodge.

Another fantastic foray into the mysterious world of Twin Peaks! I think that this episode did a great job of answering some questions while bringing up even more mysteries. A few observations:

Cooper seems to be taking his time getting back to his old self. The antics and frustrations that come up as a result of Cooper wandering around in Dougie's life feels very reminiscent of a comedic take on Lost Highway. I'm finding myself very curious about the boy and the addict woman living across the street from Dougie's parked car. I also am wondering what's going to connect the threads of the guys trying to kill Dougie, the $50k that Dougie owes, and the casino people.

Dr. Jacoby's side-business seriously cracked me up. The creep at the Bang Bang Bar that grabbed the girl was pretty scary - Gob has informed me that this guy's name is Richard Horne. Could it be Audrey's son?! Becky reminds me very much of Shelly from back in the original show: young, broke, and romantic. Her husband looks like a dope, but at least he's not an abusive dope. I definitely didn't recognize that the guy whose job he interviewed for was Mike(!).

The South Dakota plotline turned out to be my favorite part of this episode. I can't wait for more revelations on that end of things!

Cooper seems to be taking his time getting back to his old self. The antics and frustrations that come up as a result of Cooper wandering around in Dougie's life feels very reminiscent of a comedic take on Lost Highway

I feel like I should be frustrated at the delayed gratification happening here, but I'm mostly having a blast, laughing my ass off at the antics. "Damn good Joe!" So close... That elevator scene too. There's still some Cooper in all of his scenes, even if he's basically an invalid.

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I'm finding myself very curious about the boy and the addict woman living across the street from Dougie's parked car.

There are no answers, but I think that story might have just wrapped up in the latest episode. We'll see.

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I also am wondering what's going to connect the threads of the guys trying to kill Dougie, the $50k that Dougie owes, and the casino people.

The creep at the Bang Bang Bar that grabbed the girl was pretty scary - Gob has informed me that this guy's name is Richard Horne. Could it be Audrey's son?!

If so, it would make sense for his age -- otherwise, maybe an illegitimate son of Ben's?

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Becky reminds me very much of Shelly from back in the original show: young, broke, and romantic. Her husband looks like a dope, but at least he's not an abusive dope.

Maybe, but he seems like an enabling dope though.

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I definitely didn't recognize that the guy whose job he interviewed for was Mike(!)

As soon as I saw a blonde male character in a suit, I knew it'd be him. And then his steely eyes, and his asshole demeanor confirmed it.

The mysterious slasher in the box scene ó I don't actually expect that one to be resolved. I think the box served as a portal to the Black Lodge (maybe even more vast than that), and something followed Cooper in. I think that scene just serves an example of the kind of evil shit that can come out of the Black Lodge.

The humor in the Sheriff Department is kinda baffling to me. I first thought Lynch was trying to make Andy and Lucy appear sad and mentally ill but his insistence on putting in some brief Andy comic relief in this episode has me thinking it's just supposed to be funny. Lucy not understanding cell phones and passing out is kind of a follow up to her scene in Fire Walk With Me: The Missing Pieces, where she doesn't understand that it's possible to put down a phone mid-conversation and walk away, but it reminded me of bad scenes from Season 2, like straight up Little Nicky stuff. I'm not complaining, it adds to how alien this whole thing feels.

I don't understand why Norma called that guy who works at the diner Toad. Toad was the fat customer in the original series. I demand an explanation.